Method and apparatus for decoding memory

ABSTRACT

A thin-film memory may include a thin-film transistor-free address decoder in conjunction with thin-film memory elements to yield an all-thin-film memory. Such a thin-film memory excludes all single-crystal electronic devices and may be formed, for example, on a low-cost substrate, such as fiberglass, glass or ceramic. The memory may be configured for operation with an external memory controller.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to electronic memory circuits.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As electronic memories approach limits beyond which they will no longerbe able to produce the density/cost/performance improvements so famouslyset forth in Moore's law, a host of memory technologies are beinginvestigated as potential replacements for conventional siliconcomplementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuitmemories. Among the technologies being investigated are phase changememory technologies. Phase-change memory arrays are based upon memoryelements that switch among two material phases, or gradations thereof,to exhibit corresponding distinct electrical characteristics. Alloys ofelements of group VI of the periodic table, such as Te, S or Se,referred to as chalcogenides or chalcogenic materials, can be usedadvantageously in phase change memory cells. In the chalcogenides, theresistivity may change by two or more orders of magnitude when thematerial passes from the amorphous (more resistive) phase to thecrystalline (more conductive) phase, and vice versa. Further, theresistivity of the chalcogenide materials generally depend on thetemperature with the amorphous state generally being more temperaturedependent than the crystalline state.

A chalcogenide memory device may utilize the wide range of resistancevalues available for the material as the basis of memory operation. Eachresistance value corresponds to a distinct structural state of thechalcogenide material and one or more of the states can be selected andused to define operation memory states. Chalcogenide materials exhibit acrystalline state, or phase, as well as an amorphous state, or phase.Different structural states of a chalcogenide material differ withrespect to the relative proportions of crystalline and amorphous phasein a given volume or region of chalcogenide material. The range ofresistance values is generally bounded by a set state and a reset stateof the chalcogenide material. By convention, the set state is a lowresistance structural state whose electrical properties are primarilycontrolled by the crystalline portion of the chalcogenide material andthe reset state is a high resistance structural state whose electricalproperties are primarily controlled by the amorphous portion of thechalcogenide material.

Phase change may be induced by increasing the temperature locally. Below150° C., both of the phases are stable. Above 200° C., there is a rapidnucleation of the crystallites and, if the material is kept at thecrystallization temperature for a sufficiently long time, it undergoes aphase change and becomes crystalline. To bring the chalcogenide back tothe amorphous state it is necessary to raise the temperature above themelting temperature (approximately 600° C.) and then cool it offrapidly, i.e. quench. From the electrical standpoint, it is possible toreach the crystallization and melting temperatures by causing a currentto flow through a crystalline resistive element that heats thechalcogenic material by the Joule effect.

Each memory state of a chalcogenide memory material corresponds to adistinct range of resistance values and each memory resistance valuerange signifies unique informational content. Operationally, thechalcogenide material can be programmed into a particular memory stateby providing an electric current pulse of an appropriate amplitude andduration to transform the chalcogenide material into the structuralstate having the desired resistance. By controlling the amount of energyprovided to the chalcogenide material, it is possible to control therelative proportions of crystalline and amorphous phase regions within avolume of the material and to thereby control the structural (andcorresponding memory) state of the chalcogenide material to storeinformation.

Each memory state can be programmed by providing the current pulsecharacteristics of the state and each state can be identified, or“read”, in a non-destructive fashion by measuring the resistance.Programming among the different states is fully reversible and thememory devices can be written and read over a virtually unlimited numberof cycles to provide robust and reliable operation. The variableresistance memory functionality of chalcogenide materials is currentlybeing exploited in the OUM (Ovonic Universal (or Unified) Memory)devices that are beginning to appear on the market, devices alsodescribed as PCM or Phase Change Memory. Basic principles and operationof OUM type devices are presented, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos.6,859,390; 6,774,387; 6,687,153; and 6,314,014; the disclosures of whichare incorporated by reference herein, as well as in several journalarticles including, “Low Field Amorphous State Resistance and ThresholdVoltage Drift in Chalcogenide Materials,” published in EE transactionson Electron Devices, vol. 51, p. 714-719 (2004) by Pirovana et al.; and“Morphing Memory,” published in Science News, vol. 167, p. 363-364(2005) by Weiss.

The behavior (including switching, memory, and accumulation) andchemical compositions of chalcogenide materials have been described, forexample, in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,671,710; 6,714,954;6,087,674; 5,166,758; 5,296,716; 5,536,947; 5,596,522; 5,825,046;5,687,112; 5,912,839; and 3,530,441, the disclosures of which are herebyincorporated by reference. These references present proposed mechanismsthat govern the behavior of chalcogenide materials. The references alsodescribe the structural transformations from the crystalline state tothe amorphous state (and vice versa) via a series of partiallycrystalline states in which the relative proportions of crystalline andamorphous regions vary during the operation of electrical and opticalprogramming of chalcogenide materials.

A wide range of chalcogenide compositions has been investigated in aneffort to optimize the performance characteristics of chalcogenicdevices. Chalcogenide materials generally include a chalcogen elementand one or more chemical or structural modifying elements. The chalcogenelement (e.g. Te, Se, S) is selected from column VI of the periodictable and the modifying elements may be selected, for example, fromcolumn III (e.g. Ga, Al, In), column IV (e.g. Si, Ge, Sn), or column V(e.g. P, As, Sb) of the periodic table. The role of modifying elementsincludes providing points of branching or cross-linking between chainscomprising the chalcogen element. Column IV modifiers can function astetracoordinate modifiers that include two coordinate positions within achalcogenide chain and two coordinate positions that permit branching orcrosslinking away from the chalcogenide chain. Column III and Vmodifiers can function as tricoordinate modifiers that include twocoordinate positions within a chalcogenide chain and one coordinateposition that permits branching or crosslinking away from thechalcogenide chain. Embodiments in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention may include binary, ternary, quaternary, and higherorder chalcogenide alloys. Examples of chalcogenide materials aredescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,166,758, 5,296,716, 5,414,271, 5,359,205,5,341,328, 5,536,947, 5,534,712, 5,687,112, and 5,825,046 thedisclosures of which are all incorporated by reference herein.Chalcogenide materials may be deposited with a reactive sputteringprocess with gasses such as N₂ or O₂ N₂ or O₂: forming a chalcogenidenitride, or oxide, for example and chalcogenide may be modified by anion implantation or other process.

Early work in chalcogenide devices demonstrated electrical switchingbehavior in which switching from an “off” resistive state to an “on”conductive state was induced upon application of a voltage at or abovethe threshold voltage of the active chalcogenide material. This effectis the basis of the Ovonic Threshold Switch (OTS) and remains animportant practical feature of chalcogenide materials. The OTS provideshighly reproducible switching at ultrafast switching speeds. Basicprinciples and operational features of the OTS are presented, forexample, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,271,591; 5,543,737; 5,694,146; and5,757,446; the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated byreference, as well as in several journal articles including “ReversibleElectrical Switching Phenomena in Disordered Structures,” PhysicalReview Letters, vol. 21, p. 1450-1453 (1969) by S. R. Ovshinsky;“Amorphous Semiconductors for Switching, Memory, and ImagingApplications,” IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, vol. ED-20, p.91-105 (1973) by S. R. Ovshinsky and H. Fritzsche; the disclosures ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference. Three-terminal OTS devicesare disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,969,867 and 6,967,344;the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

Although highly efficient and cost effective, process methods and devicestructures that reduce the cost of phase change memories would be highlydesirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method and apparatus in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention employs a thin-film transistor-free decoder to address memorycells. The decoder may employ diodes (which may be thin-film diodes) orother devices, such as ovonic threshold switches (OTSes) to activate OTSdevices that provide access to a memory cell. In an illustrativeembodiment, a plurality of phase change memory cells, such as ovonicuniversal memory (OUM) memory cells, are arranged in an array and adecoder in accordance with the principles of the present inventionprovides access to memory cells within the array.

In an illustrative embodiment, a memory in accordance with theprinciples of the invention employs thin-film address decoding withthin-film memory to yield a standalone circuit that includes memory andperipheral circuitry, all of which is thin-film. For the purposes ofthis discussion, a “standalone circuit” means an integrated electroniccircuit that is configured to accept one or more inputs from, andprovide one or more outputs to, one or more separately packagedelectronic devices. Each standalone circuit typically includes input andoutput structures such as pads for connection to external circuits andinput and output drivers connected to those pads for communication withcircuits external to the standalone circuit. Various packaging schemesmay be employed with such a standalone circuit, including hybridpackaging, conventional bump bonding, chip-on-board, single-in-linepackaging, dual-in-line packaging, for example. Whatever packagingscheme is employed, the standalone circuit includes input and outputdrivers connected to pads employed for interconnection with otherelectronic circuits.

In an illustrative embodiment, a standalone thin-film memory circuit inaccordance with the principles of the present invention includes anarray of phase change memory cells and thin-film peripheral circuitrythat, in combination, yields a standalone thin-film memory circuit. Amemory in accordance with the principles of the present inventionincludes thin-film address decoders configured to access a memory cellwithin an array of memory cells. Such an access may involve reading fromthe memory cell or writing to the memory cell, for example. In anillustrative embodiment, thin-film devices are employed as both row andcolumn address decoding devices.

In an illustrative embodiment one or more standalone thin-film memoriesin accordance with the principles of the present invention may bedeposited on a non-crystalline substrate. Such a non-crystallinesubstrate may be a glass or ceramic, for example, and a plurality ofstandalone devices in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention may be joined via interconnecting conductive lines patternedon the substrate, for example.

A standalone thin-film memory in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention may be particularly suitable for operation in avariety of electronic devices, including cellular telephones, radiofrequency identification devices (RFID), computers (portable andotherwise), location devices (e.g., global positioning system (GPS)devices, particularly those that store and update location-specificinformation), and handheld electronic devices, including personaldigital assistants (PDAs), and entertainment devices, such as MP3players, for example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a thin-film memory in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a series of plots of voltage versus time for various points ina memory cell in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a depiction of a crossbar array of memory cells in accordancewith the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a hierarchical array of memory cells inaccordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross section of a multi-layer stack of memory cells inaccordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a memory system employing a memory inaccordance with the principles of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a system that includes memory in accordancewith the principles of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Although this invention will be described in terms of certain preferredembodiments, other embodiments that are apparent to those of ordinaryskill in the art, including embodiments that do not provide all of thebenefits and features set forth herein, are also within the scope ofthis invention. Various structural, logical, process step, chemical, andelectrical changes may be made without departing from the spirit orscope of the invention. Polarities and types of devices and supplies maybe substituted in a manner that would be apparent to one of reasonableskill in the art. Although circuits are generally described in terms ofdiode logic decoding, diodes may be conventional, crystalline diodes orthin-film diodes. Other devices, such as an ovonic threshold switch(OTS) may be used to replace some or all of the diodes to provideaddress decoding in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is defined only byreference to the appended claims.

In an illustrative embodiment, a memory in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention couples thin-film peripheralcircuitry with thin-film memory to yield a circuit that includes memoryand peripheral circuitry, all of which is rendered using thin-filmprocesses and structure. That is, a circuit that includes one or morememories in accordance with the principles of the present invention isproduced by one or more thin-film processes, such as sputtering ordeposition, and the resulting structure of a memory in accordance withthe principles of the present invention includes thin-film layers ofpolycrystalline and/or amorphous materials formed into thin-film memorycells and associated peripheral circuitry without any single-crystalstructures or devices. Such a memory may be in the form of a standalonememory or may be embedded with additional circuitry, such as, forexample, a microprocessor. Whether in a standalone or embeddedconfiguration, a memory in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention may be used in combination with a controller and other systemcomponents, as described in greater detail in the discussion related toFIG. 7. Thus the thin-film standalone circuits of the present inventiondo not require bulk single crystal silicon or other elemental orcompound single crystal materials. Additionally, single crystal devicessuch as diodes, MOS transistors, BJT transistors, and SCR devices may beemployed but are not required to co-exist on the same substrate with thethin-film standalone circuits. Some or all of the memory, logic, andother functions on a given chip are thus performed by thin-film devicesformed by sequential deposition and patterning of thin-film materials.The thin-film devices may be used alone or in combination with moreconventional, crystalline, integrated circuit components, such astransistors, substrate diodes (including those made by shorting a FET'sgate to drain), and epitaxial diodes. Example thin-film devices include,thin-film diodes fabricated by depositing doped or undoped (poly)siliconfollowed by temperature steps, doping, and/or rapid thermal anneals toimprove diode characteristics such as leakage. Example thin-filmmaterials include, chalcogenide materials (e.g. GeSbTe 225),interconnect conductive materials (e.g. Al, Cu, W), electrode materials(e.g. C, TiAlN, TiSiN, TiN), and insulators (e.g. SiO2, SiNx, Al2O3),and OTS material AsGeInSiTe 35/7/0.25/18/40.

For the purposes of this discussion, a “standalone circuit” refers to anintegrated electronic circuit that is configured to accept at least oneinput from, and provide at least one output to, at least one otherelectronic device. Each standalone circuit typically includes input andoutput structures, such as pads for connection to external circuits andinput and output drivers connected to those pads for communication withcircuits external to the standalone circuit. Various packaging schemesmay be employed with such a standalone circuit, including hybridpackaging, conventional bump bonding, chip-on-board, single-in-linepackaging, dual-in-line packaging, for example.

A phase change memory 100 that employs thin-film transistor-free addressdecoding in accordance with the principles of the present invention isdepicted in the schematic diagram of FIG. 1. Components, such as senseamplifiers used for reading a phase change memory and current sourcesemployed to write to phase change memories, that may be in series withVsupply or Return, are not included in this view of the phase changememory 100, but their combination with the circuitry of thisillustrative embodiment will be apparent to those of skill in the art,and such circuits may be located on the same chip as the memory ordiode/ots logic or off chip such as on a controller using means andpartitioning for performance and cost tradeoffs as are familiar to thosereasonably skilled in the art. Such components, particularly ifsingle-crystalline, may be located “off-chip” in embodiments ofall-thin-film memory in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention.

The memory 100 includes a first thin-film transistor-free decoder/OTSdriver combination 102, a phase change memory cell 104, and a secondthin-film transistor-free decoder/OTS driver combination 106. In thisillustrative embodiment, memory cell 104 is in series with two thin-filmtransistor-free decoder/OTS driver combinations. One thin-filmtransistor-free decoder/OTS driver combination, when selected by thedecoder, turns on in series with positive supply Vsupply and operates asa column select device in an illustrative memory array. As will beunderstood by one of skill in the art, the column select thin-filmtransistor-free decoder/OTS driver combination would typically bedistributed to a plurality of memory cells within an array of memorycells.

The other thin-film transistor-free decoder/OTS driver combination turnson in series with the RETURN (negative) supply, and operates as a rowselect device in an illustrative memory array. As will be understood byone of skill in the art, the row select thin-film transistor-freedecoder/OTS driver combination would typically be distributed to aplurality of memory cells within an array of memory cells in adistribution orthogonal to that of the column select combination,thereby yielding a crosspoint row/column memory cell selectionapparatus.

In this illustrative embodiment, the first thin-film transistor-freedecoder/OTS combination 102 includes an OTS device OTS₁ connected at afirst terminal 110 to a positive voltage supply Vsupply and a secondterminal 112 connected to the cathodes of diodes D₁ and D₂ and to aninput terminal 116 of a phase change cell 104 serving as a memorystorage element. Either the positive or negative supply voltage may beregulated, such as through use of a band-gap regulator on or off chip.The phase change memory (PCM) cell 104 includes an Ovonic UniversalMemory (OUM) element 103 and an OTS device OTS₂ 105 connected in series.The OTS device OTS₂ 105 operates as an isolation device, such as isknown in the art. Other isolation devices (also referred to as access orselection devices), such as a diode or transistor, for example, may beemployed in a memory in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention. Such isolation devices may be employed in combination withpositive or negative supplies and a diode decoder and OTS select deviceto select the column or row, for example.

In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 1, a first terminal 118 of theOTS device OTS₂ is connected to the second terminal of the OUM element103. The second terminal 119 of the OTS device OTS₂ is connected to theanodes of diodes D₃ and D₄ and to a first terminal 124 of a third OTSdevice OTS₃. The second terminal of the OTS device OTS₃ is connected toa return supply. The series order of the OUM and OTS2 in the memory cellmay be reversed.

Although Vsupply and RETURN could be, respectively, a fixed voltagesource and return, as will be described in greater detail in thediscussion related to FIG. 2, in an illustrative embodiment, Vsupply andRETURN are switched in order to reduce power consumption and to providethe appropriate signal magnitude and duration for accessing (e.g.,reading, writing a 1, writing a 0, writing other values).

In accordance with the principles of the present invention, signals S₁,S₂, S₃, and S₄, respectively presented to diodes D₁, D₂, D₃, and D₄, maybe combinations of address signals and their complements. As describedin greater detail in the sixteen-cell illustrative example of FIG. 3,address signals (denoted: A₁, A₂ herein) and their complements (denoted:A_(1BAR), A_(2BAR) herein) may be provided in appropriate combinationsto uniquely select individual memory cells within an array as determinedby connections of the selected address lines to the decoding diodes (orOTS devices if used instead). As will be described in greater detail inthe discussion related to FIG. 2, a memory cell, such as memory cell104, is accessed by triggering (also referred to herein as thresholding)the “outlying” OTS devices (devices OTS₁ and OTS₃ in this illustrativeembodiment). The outlying OTS devices, once triggered, thereafterexhibit low impedance until untriggered by lowering the current belowIhold. With both OTS₁ and OTS₃ in low impedance states, the potentialbetween Vsupply and RETURN is imposed across the memory cell 104 and thecell 104 is accessed (e.g., read from or written to) according to themagnitude and profile of the waveform exhibited by the difference:Vsupply−RETURN.

As will be described in greater detail in the discussion related to FIG.3, the node to which the cathodes of diodes D₁ and D₂ are connected,labeled “COLUMN”, may be distributed to a plurality of memory cells andoperate as a column line in a memory array. Similarly, the node to whichthe anodes of diodes D₃ and D₄ are connected, labeled “ROW”, may bedistributed to a plurality of memory cells and operate as a row line ina memory array. By such means, an x-y matrix of cells may be suppliedand each cell may be uniquely accessed using the decoder shown with theOTS on each column and/or an OTS plus decoder on each row.

In operation, with either diode D₁ or D₂ forward-biased by eitherrespective input signal S₁ or S₂ having a “HI” value, the COLUMN nodewill be clamped at a level equal to the HI input voltage on the addressline (S_(n)) minus a diode drop. With the COLUMN node at that level, thevoltage across OTS₁ will be less than the threshold voltage of OTS_(i),even with Vsupply at the maximum positive supply voltage, and OTS₁ willnot trigger. Similarly, with either diode D₃ or D₄ forward-biased byeither respective input signal S₃ or S₄ having a “LO” value, the ROWnode will be clamped at a level equal to the LO input voltage of theaddress line (S_(n)) plus a diode drop. With the ROW node at that level,the voltage across OTS₃ will be less than the threshold voltage of OTS₃,even with RETURN at the minimum negative supply voltage, and OTS₃ willnot trigger. This is the signal configuration of an un-selected memorycell.

On the other hand, with both diodes D₁ and D₂ reverse-biased byrespective input signals S₁ and S₂ having a “LO” value, the COLUMN nodewill be discharged to a LO level by reverse leakage current through thediodes D₁ and D₂. With the COLUMN node at a LO value, OTS₁ will betriggered to a low impedance state with the application of asufficiently high Vsupply voltage (i.e., with Vsupply-Vcolumn greaterthan or equal to the threshold voltage of OTS₁ (V_(THOTS1))). Thiscombination, in effect, yields a NOR column selection. That is, with allinputs to the diodes low, the diodes are reverse-biased and the columnnode is discharged to a low level (low enough, that is, to trigger theOTS₁)—a NOR operation. This operation eventually triggers the OTS₁ andimpresses the positive supply voltage upon the column node. Similarly,with both diodes D₃ and D₄ reverse-biased by both respective inputsignals S₃ and S₄ having a “HI” value, the ROW node will be charged byreverse leakage current from the diodes to a level sufficient to triggerthe OTS₃ (i.e., V_(ROW)−V_(RETURN) greater than or equal to thethreshold voltage of OTS₃ (V_(THOTS3))). This combination, in effect,yields an AND row selection. That is, with all inputs to the diodeshigh, the diodes are reverse-biased and the row node is charged to a“high” level (high enough, that is, to trigger the OTS₃)—an ANDoperation. This operation eventually triggers the OTS₃ and completes areturn conduction path to the row node.

With both OTS₁ and OTS₃ triggered, OTS₁ and OTS₃ present low impedancepaths and substantially the entire voltage, V_(supply)−V_(return), fallsacross the memory cell 104. This is the signal configuration of aselected memory cell. In accordance with the principles of the presentinvention, different supply voltages may be employed for differentoperations. For example, the value of V_(supply) for a READ operationmay be lower than the value of V_(supply) for a WRITE operation; thevalue of V_(supply) for a WRITE 0 operation may be different from thevalue of V_(supply) for a WRITE 1; etc. Additionally, the wave shapes,in particular, the trailing edges, of such pulses may vary according tothe operation being performed. The supply voltage V_(supply) may beprovided from “off-chip” in the form of a pulse in either case.Additionally, the amplitude of such a pulse may be modified to allow forarray drops depending upon the location of the cell along the row orcolumn line. The RETURN supply is the more negative of the two suppliesand, in many implementations may be 0V, or “ground.” The operatingmargin for a circuit such as this may be improved by engineering theV_(th)(ots) and V_(th)(oum) and address line levels targeted, forexample, as:

For Read:V _(supply)−(V _(h)OTS₁ +V _(h)OTS₃)<V _(th)OTS₂ +V _(th) OUMV _(address) H−V _(diode) >V _(supply) −V _(th)(OTS₁)V _(addressL) +V _(diode) <V _(return) +V _(th)(OTS1)Similarly for Write,V_(supply)−(V_(h)OTS₁+V_(h)OTS₃)>V_(th)OTS₂+V_(th)OUM (current limitedto the appropriate current to write reset with a fast trailing edge orwrite set with a slow trailing edge)V _(addressH) −V _(diode) >V _(supply) −V _(th)(OTS₁)V _(addressL) +V _(diode) <V _(return) +V _(th)(OTS₁)Where:

-   V_(addressH)=the voltage of an address line driven to a logic “HI”-   V_(addressL)=the voltage of an address line driven to a logic “LO”-   V_(h)OTS₁=the hold voltage of OTS₁-   V_(h)OTS₃=the hold voltage of OTS₃-   V_(th)OTS₂=the threshold voltage of OTS₂-   V_(th)OUM=the threshold voltage of OUM-   V_(diode)=the forward diode drop of a diode

As previously indicated, in an illustrative embodiment two-terminal OTSdevices may be used, rather than diodes (e.g., substitute two-terminalOTS devices for diodes D₁, D₂, D₃, and D₄), to perform the addressdecoding function just described and described in greater detail in thediscussion related to FIG. 3. A similar analysis applies to the use oftwo-terminal OTS devices in a thin-film transistor-free address-decodingapparatus in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

A plurality of row and column selection diode logic/OTS combinations,such as combinations 102 and 106, may be employed to select memory cellsin a “crosspoint” manner, whereby only a cell with both its row andcolumn devices activated is accessed. That is, a plurality of cells like104 may be wired in parallel to terminal 112 and, similarly, a pluralityof other cells like 104 may be wired in parallel to terminal 124. Eachcell is different in that it uniquely couples to one of many columnlines 112 and one of many row lines 124. As will be described in greaterdetail below, the thin-film transistor-free decoder/OTS combinations 102and 106 operate to redistribute the proportion of the voltage differencebetween Vsupply and Vreturn and, in that manner, access the memory cell104 for reading or writing to a “1” or “0” (or, in a multi-level cell(MLC) implementation, writing to multiple levels, such as “00,” “01,”“10,” or “11,” for example). Because the decoder and array areimplemented using thin-films, and the thin-film layers may be stacked, aplurality of memory/decoder layers may be formed on the same chip.Additionally, any or all of the layers may employ MLC operation.

Because the thin-film transistor-free decoder/OTS driver combinations102 and 106 can sink or source far more current than a transistor ofcomparable size, use of a thin-film transistor-free decoder/OTS drivercombination in accordance with the principles of the present inventionmay significantly reduce the area within an integrated circuit memorythat must be dedicated to circuitry that provides row and/or columnaccess to the load, here shown as one or more memory cells. For example,a thin-film transistor-free decoder/OTS combination in accordance withthe principles of the present invention may occupy only sixteen lambdasquares, while a transistor capable of sinking or sourcing the samecurrent (or adequate load current) occupies 400 squares or more.Conventional logic employed to decode the addresses would requireconsiderably more area and would require the use of expensivesingle-crystalline devices as well. Through the use of the thin-filmdecoder driver, the stacked layers may include the decoders (diodes orOTS in place of diodes) and drivers (OTS alone or OTS with transistorsfor one or more of the drivers).

Although the illustrative configuration of FIG. 1 includes two thin-filmtransistor-free decoder/OTS driver combinations for phase change memorycell 104, as will be described in more detail in the discussion relatedto FIG. 4, thin-film transistor-free decoder/OTS combinations may beshared among a plurality of phase change memory cells.

The timing chart of FIG. 2 may be viewed to better understand operationof the memory circuit of FIG. 1. In the illustrative embodiment of FIG.1, thin-film transistor-free decoder/OTS driver combinations inaccordance with the principles of the present invention are configuredto controllably provide low impedance connection to Vsupply and Return,respectively, for the positive and negative terminals of memory cell 104(that is, memory element 103 in series with isolation device OTS₂). InFIG. 2, voltages corresponding to signals at the column address linesA_(COL), at the row address lines A_(ROW), at the column node COL, atthe row node ROW, at the supply input V_(SUPPLY), at the return inputV_(RETURN), and across the memory cell V_(CELL), are plotted againsttime.

In this illustrative embodiment, at their extremes, the supply voltages,V_(SUPPLYMAX) and V_(RETURNMIN), may be, for example, 3.0V and 0.0V,respectively. In accordance with the principles of the present inventionall the voltages may be maintained at an intermediate value(V_(SUPPLYMAX)/2, for example, where V_(SUPPLYMAX) is the maximum value)while “inactive” (e.g., between memory accesses). In the alternative,the charge supplied to the selected memory cell(s) through the selected(low impedance) OTS devices may be from a variable current source ratherthan a voltage for more precise reading and writing.

At time T₀ the column address lines (true and complement) A_(COL), therow address lines (true and complement)A_(ROW), the column node COL, therow node ROW, the supply input V_(SUPPLY), and the return inputV_(RETURN) are all at V_(SUPPLYMAX)/2 (1.5V in this illustrativeembodiment). The voltage across the memory cell, V_(CELL) is zero volts.

At time T_(1C) the column address lines (signals S₁ and S₂ in theillustrative embodiment of FIG. 1) begin their descent towards 0V,reverse-biasing the decoding devices (diodes D₁ and D₂ in theillustrative embodiment of FIG. 1). Reverse-biasing the diodes D₁ and D₂establishes a reverse bias leakage current which drains the COLUMN nodefrom 1.5V toward 0V, as indicated by the traces labeled A_(COL) and COL.A similar process takes place with the row address lines increasing involtage, reverse-biasing the diodes D₃ and D₄ and charging the ROW nodewith reverse bias leakage current from the diodes D₃ and D₄, asindicated by the traces labeled A_(ROW) and ROW, with the row addresslines beginning their ascent at time T_(1R), which may or may notcoincide with time T_(1C). The supply voltages, V_(SUPPLY) andV_(RETURN), are driven, respectively, positive and negative at timesT_(S1), and T_(R1), which times may or may not coincide, as indicated bytraces labeled V_(SUPPLY) and V_(RETURN).

At time T_(2C), as the column address lines continue their descent, thepositive supply voltage V_(SUPPLY) has attained a level that, incombination with the descending column voltage COL, is sufficient totrigger OTS₁. With OTS₁ in a low impedance state, the positive supplyvoltage V_(SUPPLY) is impressed upon the column node COL, as indicatedby the upturn in the trace labeled COL at time T_(2C). Similarly, attime T_(2R), as the row address lines continue their ascent, thenegative supply voltage V_(RETURN) has attained a level that, incombination with the ascending row voltage ROW, is sufficient to triggerOTS₃. With OTS₃ in a low impedance state, the negative supply voltageV_(RETURN) is impressed upon the row node ROW, as indicated by thedownturn in the trace labeled ROW at time T_(2R).

With the column voltage ascending and row voltage descending, thevoltage across the cell V_(CELL) (the difference between the two)increases. At some point, the cell voltage becomes sufficient to triggerthe isolation OTS, OTS₂, and the cell's memory element OUM is accessed.The magnitude M, duration D and slope of the cell's voltage curvebetween times T_(CELL3) and T_(CELL4) can all play a part in determiningthe type of access that is carried out (e.g., a read access, write 00,01, 10, or 11, for example). For example, as is known in the art, arelatively high magnitude access signal that is abruptly terminated mayplace the OUM in a high impedance state. A signal of the same magnitudethat is gradually terminated may place the OUM in a low impedance state.A signal of lower magnitude, one that impresses less than a thresholdvoltage across the OUM, may be employed to read the state (e.g., highimpedance, low impedance, intermediate impedance) of the memory elementOUM. The magnitude, duration, and profile of the access signal(V_(CELL)) may be determined by a combination of positive-going pulsessupplied by V_(SUPPLY) and negative-going pulses supplied by V_(RETURN)to provide a desired type of access (e.g., READ, WRITE 00, WRITE 01,etc.). At the conclusion of an access operation, all signals may bereturned to their neutral state (1.5V in this illustrative embodiment).

For a write operation, the cell voltage V_(CELL) is temporarily greaterthan or equal to the threshold voltage of the OTS device OTS₂ plus thethreshold voltage of the memory element OUM (if the Ith of each both arerelatively equal, and otherwise the Vcell may be less). For a readoperation, the cell voltage V_(CELL) is greater than the thresholdvoltage of the OTS device OTS₂, plus a voltage, such as 0.3V, thatplaces the OUM in a read voltage regime even if it is reset (i.e., inthe amorphous state). Such a read voltage regime is known in the art anddescribed, for example, in published U.S. Application 2006/0279979 toLowrey et al, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

As a further example, Vsupply may be in series with a read currentsource enabled during read that forces the read current through selectdevices OTS1 and OTS3 once they are triggered on, and thus into selectedcell 104. If the current continues charging without a change in slopeduring read, the cell is in the amorphous state or high resistancestate, and charging may be stopped before the OUM is thresholded throughuse of a voltage clamp, such as at voltage of Vots+0.5V. If the slopechanges at a relatively low voltage compared to a bit in the amorphousstate, the OUM is in a set or low resistance state.

In accordance with the principles of the present invention, for a READoperation, the supply voltage may be increased so that the cell voltageis greater than the total of the OUM by a voltage, such as 0.3V, inorder to turn the OTS₂ on if the selected bit is in the set state, then,once the device OTS₂ begins conducting, the supply voltage may belowered so that the cell voltage is greater than the Vh voltage of theOTS device OTS₂ plus a voltage that places the OUM in a read regime, andthus the resistance of the cell state may be detected. This approach maybe implemented by use of a read current that thresholds to the OTS ifthe PCM is set, but uses a voltage clamp so the maximum voltage acrossthe cell is less than that necessary to trigger the OUM (Vots+Voum) ifthe bit is reset. Such lowering may be accomplished by placingV_(supply) in series with a read current source. Such current source orthe supply voltage V_(supply) may be a regulated voltage, such as aband-gap regulator, or supplied by a temperature-compensated and voltagecompensated current source, for example. Such currents and voltages neednot be the same voltage for READ, Write SET, and Write RESET operations,and can be designed to accommodate load and isolation devices as will beapparent to one reasonably skilled in the art. For example, to write,the voltage compliance may be increased as necessary to be great enoughso that, even if the bit is reset, the OTS triggers to its holdingvoltage Vh. The current forced by the increased voltage complianceensures that the PCM portion of the cell triggers and allows the writecurrent to flow through the triggered PCM, as is required for a writeoperation.

Write set or reset may be accomplished by placing Vsupply in series witha current larger than a read current and adequate to melt the OUM to atemperature adequate to reset the element. Then, to write the bit to areset state, the current may be turned off rapidly, such as in less than10 nsec, if the alloy is G2S2T5. Or turn-off (quench) may be even fasterif faster alloys are used, such as by use of a trailing edge less than 1nsec. To write the element to a set state, the current amplitude may bethe same as for reset, but may be turned off slowly for setting, such aswith a linear slope greater than 500 nsec.

After write is accomplished, the V_(supply) and Return voltages may beforced to V/2 by pre-charging, thereby turning off the column and rowOTS devices and the array armed for the next cycle. Such pre-chargingmay be used advantageously to assist rapid quenching when writing to thereset (higher resistance) state.

The block diagram of FIG. 3 will be used to illustrate a decoding schemein accordance with the principles of the present invention employed inan illustrative sixteen-cell crossbar memory array. Extension of theprinciples illustrated herein with respect to a small array such as thisto larger arrays will be apparent to those skilled in the art. In thediagram of FIG. 3 each intersection (labeled row,column) represents amemory cell within an array. Address signals (labeledA_(i),A_(j))represent the signals supplied to the row and columndecoding diodes associated with the memory cells. For example, addresssignals A₃ and A₄ are supplied to the four memory cells associated withrow line 1 and address signals A₁ and A₂ are supplied to the four memorycells associated with column line 1, for example.

In this illustrative example, memory cell 1,1 is selected when A₁=A₂=Lowand are driven low, such as by a current or voltage source, andA₃=A₄=High, such as by a current source or pullup voltage. That is, withsignals A₁ and A₂ being supplied to column decode diodes, such as diodesD₁ and D₂ described in the discussion related to FIG. 1, driving bothaddress signals low back-biases the diodes D₁ and D₂, which forcesreverse bias leakage current thereby discharging the column node and,eventually, triggering the column OTS OTS₁ into a low impedance state(low dv/di) in series with its Vh, thereby impressing the positivesupply voltage upon this selected column node (and thereby raising it),as previously described. With signals A₃ and A₄ being supplied high torow decode diodes, such as diodes D₃ and D₄ described in the discussionrelated to FIG. 1, driving both address signals high to back-bias thediodes D₃ and D₄, thereby charging the row node and, eventually,triggering the row OTS OTS₃ and thereby pulling it low by impressing thenegative supply voltage upon the row node, as previously described.Because memory cell 1,1 is the only cell with both its column and rownodes thus-selected, it is the only cell accessed with this combinationof address signals.

Similarly, in this illustrative example, memory cell 4,4 is selectedwhen A_(1BAR)=A_(2BAR)=Low and A_(3BAR)=A_(4BAR)=High. That is, withsignals A_(1BAR) and A_(2BAR) being supplied to column decode diodes,such as diodes D₁ and D₂ described in the discussion related to FIG. 1,driving both address signals low back-biases its decoder diodes, andthereby discharges the column node, thereby triggering its column OTSOTS₁ and impressing the positive supply voltage upon the column node, aspreviously described. With signals A_(3BAR) and A_(4BAR) being suppliedto row decode diodes, such as diodes D₃ and D₄ described in thediscussion related to FIG. 1, driving both address signals highback-biases the diodes D₃ and D₄, thereby charging the row node and,eventually, triggering the column OTS OTS₃ and impressing the negativesupply voltage upon the row node, as previously described. Becausememory cell 4,4 is the only cell with both its column and row nodesthus-selected, it is the only cell accessed with this combination ofaddress signals. In an illustrative embodiment, all address lines A₁,A₂, . . . , A_(n) and their complements, A_(1BAR), A_(2BAR), . . . ,A_(nBAR) are supplied to a memory in accordance with the principles ofthe present invention in order to facilitate thin-film transistor-freememory cell decoding in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention.

Thin-film transistor-free decoder/OTS driver combinations in accordancewith the principles of the present invention may be employed within amemory in accordance with the principles of the present invention thatemploys a hierarchical architecture in which blocks of memory aredistributed in an array. In an illustrative embodiment, each block ofmemory and each element within the block may be accessed through row andcolumn address decoders, and multiple elements may be accessed byselecting multiple columns, rows, and/or blocks in parallel.

In the conceptual block diagram of FIG. 4, a memory 400 is organized inan 8×8 array of 64 memory blocks 402. Each block includes an array ofmemory cells 404 and peripheral circuitry that includes column 406, androw 408 access circuitry that provide access to individual memory cells410 within each block 402. Peripheral array circuitry 412 includes rowand column decoders and drivers, data and address buffers, senseamplifiers and current sources. In an all-thin-film decoder, driver, andmemory array embodiment in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention, peripheral logic circuitry may be limited, for example to rowand column address drivers, row and column decoders, such as thethin-film transistor-free decoders described in the discussions relatedto previous figures. Other circuitry, such as sense amplifiers andcurrent sources may be located “on” or “off-chip” on a memorycontroller, for example.

Within each block of memory, address signals (and their complements) areused to determine which element to access. In this illustrativeembodiment, the memory employs different current/voltage sources foreach operation, and, therefore, it (or a controller that includes thecurrent and voltage sources) predetermines not just whether the elementis to be read from or written to, but, additionally, that state it isbeing written to, whether a SET RESET, or intermediate levels if MLC(multiple bits stored per physical cell—thus determining which operationis to be performed upon user command.

In this illustrative embodiment each of the memory blocks 402 includes arow thin-film transistor-free decoder/OTS combination dedicated to eachrow within the memory block 402 and a column thin-film transistor-freedecoder/OTS combination dedicated to each column within the memory block402. However, combinations of some of these embodiments may be used withmore traditional means to decode or drive the memory array. For example,a traditional transistor decoder could drive the row and the embodimentdescribed herein could drive the column.

Referring to FIG. 5, a memory 500 in accordance with the principles ofthe present invention may include thin-film memory devices and thin-filmaccess devices, such as thin-film diodes or OTS devices, stacked oneupon another. Because thin-film materials and processes are employed,the memory 500 may be deposited on a relatively inexpensive substrate502 such as glass, ceramic, or other material; a conventional singlecrystal silicon substrate is not needed. Thin-film processing techniquesalso permit the stacking of such devices.

The phase change memory elements 14 a-14 d in FIG. 5 of thisillustrative embodiment may be implemented by a series of layersprovided underneath the selection devices 16 a-16 d. The memory elements14 a-14 d and selection devices 16 a-16 d may be, respectively, phasechange memories and thin-film access devices as described in thediscussion related to the previous Figures. Vias 18 may be providedbetween adjacent levels to provide interconnection between wiringconductors on those levels.

In this illustrative stacked thin-film memory, addressing lines areshared. For example, line 12 d, is shared between directly overlyingcells (including the element 14 d and the selection device 16 d),providing a rowline to those cells; and directly underlying cells(including the selection device 16 c and the memory element 14 c),providing a column line to those cells. Similarly, the line 12 cfunctions for selection of the directly overlying cells (including theselection device 16 c and the memory element 14 c), providing a rowlineto those cells; as well as for selection of the memory cells directlyunderlying line 12 c including memory element 14 b and selection device16 b, providing a column line to those cells.

Stacking of thin-film memory devices and shared addressing lines areknown and described in published patent application 2006/0120136entitled, “SHARED ADDRESSE LINES FOR CROSSPOINT MEMORY,” and in U.S.Pat. No. 6,795,338, entitled “Memory Having Access Devices Using PhaseChange Material Such As Chalcogenide,” which are hereby incorporated byreference. Such means may be utilized with the embodiments herein wherethe stacked layers may also include the thin-film diode decoders withthe OTS drivers. Similarly, the diodes may be replaced by OTS drivers ofdifferent trigger voltage optimized for margin relative to the thresholdof the OTS driver or memory cell ots, such as by adjusting the thicknessof each.

The formation of each layer, such as metal layer N, typically requiresseveral process steps. Such process steps may include: deposition,lithography, etching, cleaning, dielectric deposition, andplanarization, for example. Conventional memories, which rely uponsingle-crystal circuitry to perform memory access functions such asaddress-decoding, have had to rely upon dramatically increased numbersof mask steps (along with ancillary steps just described) in order toachieve greater memory densities. A conventional single-crystal memoryof 128 Mbit or more requires at least thirty mask steps. Each additionalmask step adds significantly to the cost of production, limitsproduction flexibility, decreases reliability, increases productioncycletimes, and increases inventory costs. Because all access devicesand access circuitry, such as address decoding circuitry, is contiguouswith the substrate in a single-crystal memory device, additional metallayers (and associated mask and ancillary steps) may be required toroute address and data lines to memory cells. As features sizes shrink,conventional single-crystal circuitry, including memory devices andperipheral memory circuitry must include isolation features, such asimplant regions. Such isolation regions require additional process stepsincluding: mask, trench etch, clean, implant, clean, dielectric fill,and planarization.

Memory cells in a standalone all-thin-film memory in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention are self-isolating (beingsurrounded, for example, by insulator material such as SiO₂) and,therefore, avoid the additional process steps required of conventionalsingle-crystal memory and hybrid memories that employ single-crystalcircuits, such as decoders and select devices, in combination withthin-film memory cells. By eliminating conventional single-crystaldevices a standalone thin-film memory in accordance with the principlesof the present invention eliminates the multiple mask steps associatedwith the formation of n-channel MOSFETs, with the formation of p-channelMOSFETs, with the isolation of n-channel MOSFETS, with the isolation ofp-channel MOSFETS, and with the interconnection to these devices.Additionally, by off-loading a substantial amount of memory supportfunctions to a controller, the complexity of a standalone thin-filmmemory in accordance with the principles of the present invention may besubstantially less than a conventional memory of the same capacity.

In an illustrative embodiment, a standalone thin-film memory inaccordance with the principles of the present invention includes only athin-film memory array, thin-film access devices, thin-film decoding,and thin-film drivers for input/output operations; all other functionsare executed by a controller adapted to controlling one or morestandalone thin-film memories in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention. By eliminating the complexity associated with amemory that includes peripheral support circuits, along with a memoryarray and access circuits, a standalone thin-film memory in accordancewith the principles of the present invention avoids the use ofadditional metal layers (for example, three to five metal layers, eachrequiring two to four mask steps) often required to interconnectconventional, complex, single-crystal memories.

Even hybrid thin-film/single-crystal memories, which employ asingle-crystal substrate that includes single-crystal circuitry such asaddress-decoding circuitry, may be forced to use more mask steps inorder to route address and data lines to memory cells.

A memory in accordance with the principles of the present invention mayreduce the number of mask steps required for each complete memory layerof 128 Mbit or more. In some embodiments, an all-thin-film memory inaccordance with the principles of the present invention may reduce thenumber of mask steps required for the formation of a complete memorylayer of 128 Mbit or more. By sharing interconnect layers, as in thestacked embodiment of FIG. 5, the number of layer, and associated masksteps per layer of memory, can be reduced even further.

Stacking of thin-film memory devices and shared addressing lines areknown and described in published patent application 2006/0120136entitled, “SHARED ADDRESSE LINES FOR CROSSPOINT MEMORY,” and in U.S.Pat. No. 6,795,338, entitled “Memory Having Access Devices Using PhaseChange Material Such As Chalcogenide,” which are hereby incorporated byreference.

In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 6 a memory system 600 inaccordance with the principles of the present invention includes one ormore thin-film memories 602 deposited on a standard crystalline ornon-crystalline substrate 604. Such a non-crystalline substrate 604 maybe a surface mount PC board, for example. A plurality of standalonememory devices 602 in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention may be joined via interconnecting conductive lines 606patterned on the substrate. Conductive interconnecting lines may bepatterned in a multilayer substrate, in order to connect componentsthrough conductive lines situated on different layers of the substrate,for example.

A memory controller 605 may be formed on the same substrate 604 andconfigured to operate the standalone memories 602 in a manner previouslydescribed. The memory controller may be formed using a conventional CMOSprocess, then connected to the standalone memories formed on thenon-crystalline substrate through processes such as those employed inhybrid circuit manufacture, for example. The memory system 600 maycommunicate with other components using conventional interconnectioncomponents, such as edge connector 608 or other self-contained connector610 which may be a high speed optical or coaxial connector, for example.

The phase change electronic device(s) and control/OTS driver embodimentdescribed in the discussion related to the previous figures may beemployed to particular advantage in a wide variety of systems. Theschematic diagram of FIG. 7 will be employed to illustrate the devices'use in a few such systems. The schematic diagram of FIG. 7 includes manycomponents and devices, some of which will be used for specificembodiments of a system in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention and others not. In other embodiments, other similar systems,components and devices may be employed. In general, the system includeslogic circuitry configured to operate along with phase change memory.The logic circuitry may be discrete, programmable, application-specific,or in the form of a microprocessor, for example. And the embodimentsherein may also be employed within the chips or connected to suchcircuitry.

The exemplary system of FIG. 7 is for descriptive purposes only.Although the description may refer to terms commonly used in describingparticular computer, communications, tracking, and entertainmentsystems, the description and concepts equally apply to other systems,including systems having architectures dissimilar to that illustrated inFIG. 7. The electronic system 700, in various embodiments, may beimplemented as, for example, a general purpose computer, a router, alarge-scale data storage system, a portable computer, a personal digitalassistant, a cellular telephone, an electronic entertainment device,such as a music or video playback device or electronic game, amicroprocessor, a microcontroller, or a radio frequency identificationdevice. Any or all of the components depicted in FIG. 7 may employ athin-film transistor-free decoder/OTS driver within the components, orwithin a phase change memory or chalcogenide electronic device, such asa chalcogenide-based nonvolatile memory or threshold switch, forexample, that are embedded within the components.

In an illustrative embodiment, the system 700 may include a centralprocessing unit (CPU) 705, which may be implemented with some or all ofa microprocessor, a random access memory (RAM) 710 for temporary storageof information, and a read only memory (ROM) 715 for permanent storageof information. A memory controller 720 is provided for controlling RAM710. In accordance with the principles of the present invention, all of,or any portion of, any of the memory elements (e.g. RAM or ROM) may beimplemented using the thin-film transistor-free decoder/OTS driverembodiment described herein, either as chalcogenide-based nonvolatilememory, or with other types of memory or components.

An electronic system 700 in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention may be a microprocessor that operates as a CPU 705, incombination with embedded chalcogenide-based electronic thin-filmtransistor-free decoder/OTS driver used with or without nonvolatilememory that operates as RAM 710 and/or ROM715, or as a portion thereof.In this illustrative example, the microprocessor and thin-filmtransistor-free decoder/OTS combination may be standalone, or mayoperate with other components, such as those of FIG. 7 yet-to-bedescribed.

In implementations within the scope of the invention, a bus 730interconnects the components of the system 700. A bus controller 725 isprovided for controlling bus 730. An interrupt controller 735 may or maynot be used for receiving and processing various interrupt signals fromthe system components. Such components as the bus 730, bus controller725, and interrupt controller 735 may be employed in a large-scaleimplementation of a system in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention, such as that of a standalone computer, a router, aportable computer, or a data storage system, for example.

Mass storage may be provided by diskette 742, CD ROM 747, or hard drive752. Such mass storage may utilize the embodiments described herein.Data and software may be exchanged with the system 700 via removablemedia such as diskette 742 and CD ROM 747. Diskette 742 is insertableinto diskette drive 741 which is, in turn, connected to bus 730 by acontroller 740. Similarly, CD ROM 747 is insertable into CD ROM drive746 which is, in turn, connected to bus 730 by controller 745. Suchcomponents may utilize the thin-film transistor-free decoder/OTS hereinto drive loads within or off the chip. Hard disc 752 is part of a fixeddisc drive 751 which is connected to bus 730 by controller 750. Althoughconventional terms for storage devices (e.g., diskette) are beingemployed in this description of a system in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention, any or all of the components orstorage devices may be implemented using chalcogenide-based thin-filmtransistor-free decoder/OTS drivers in accordance with the principles ofthe present invention. Removable storage may be provided by anonvolatile storage component, such as a thumb drive, that employs achalcogenide-based thin-film transistor-free decoder/OTS driver with orwithout nonvolatile memory in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention as the storage medium. Storage systems that employchalcogenide-based nonvolatile memory as “plug and play” substitutes forconventional removable memory, such as disks or CD ROMs or thumb drives,for example, may emulate existing controllers to provide a transparentinterface for controllers such as controllers 740, 745, and 750, forexample.

User input to the system 700 may be provided by any of a number ofdevices. For example, a keyboard 756 and mouse 757 are connected to bus730 by controller 755. An audio transducer 796, which may act as both amicrophone and a speaker, is connected to bus 730 by audio controller797, as illustrated. Other input devices, such as a pen and/or tabloidmay be connected to bus 730 and an appropriate controller and software,as required, for use as input devices. DMA controller 760 is providedfor performing direct memory access to RAM 710, which, as previouslydescribed, may be implemented in whole or part using chalcogenide-basedthin-film transistor-free decoder/OTS drivers with or withoutnonvolatile memory devices in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention. A visual display is generated by video controller 765which controls display 770. The display 770 may be of any size ortechnology appropriate for a given application.

In a cellular telephone or portable entertainment system embodiment, forexample, the display 770 may include one or more relatively small (e.g.on the order of a few inches per side) LCD displays. In a large-scaledata storage system, the display may implemented as large-scalemulti-screen, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), or organic light emittingdiodes (OLEDs), including quantum dot OLEDs, for example. Any suchcomponents or devices may use thin-film transistor-free decoder/OTSdrivers with or without nonvolatile memory devices in accordance withthe principles of the present invention.

The system 700 may also include a communications adaptor 790 whichallows the system to be interconnected to a local area network (LAN) ora wide area network (WAN), schematically illustrated by bus 791 andnetwork 795. An input interface 799 operates in conjunction with aninput device 793 to permit a user to send information, whether commandand control, data, or other types of information, to the system 700. Theinput device and interface may be any of a number of common interfacedevices, such as a joystick, a touch-pad, a touch-screen, aspeech-recognition device, or other known input device. Any suchcomponents or devices may use thin-film transistor-free decoder/OTSdrivers with or without nonvolatile memory devices in accordance withthe principles of the present invention. In some embodiments of a systemin accordance with the principles of the present invention, the adapter790 may operate with transceiver 773 and antenna 775 to provide wirelesscommunications, for example, in cellular telephone, RFID, and wificomputer implementations. Any such components or devices may usethin-film transistor-free decoder/OTS drivers with or withoutnonvolatile memory devices in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention.

Operation of system 700 is generally controlled and coordinated byoperating system software. The operating system controls allocation ofsystem resources and performs tasks such as processing scheduling,memory management, networking, and I/O services, among things. Inparticular, an operating system resident in system memory and running onCPU 705 coordinates the operation of the other elements of the system700.

In illustrative handheld electronic device embodiments of a system 700in accordance with the principles of the present invention, such as acellular telephone, a personal digital assistance, a digital organizer,a laptop computer, a handheld information device, a handheldentertainment device such as a device that plays music and/or video,small-scale input devices, such as keypads, function keys and soft keys,such as are known in the art, may be substituted for the controller 755,keyboard 756 and mouse 757, for example. Embodiments with a transmitter,recording capability, etc., may also include a microphone input (notshown).

In an illustrative RFID transponder implementation of a system 700 inaccordance with the principles of the present invention, the antenna 775may be configured to intercept an interrogation signal from a basestation at a frequency F₁. The intercepted interrogation signal wouldthen be conducted to a tuning circuit (not shown) that accepts signal F₁and rejects all others. The signal then passes to the transceiver 773where the modulations of the carrier F₁ comprising the interrogationsignal are detected, amplified and shaped in known fashion. The detectedinterrogation signal then passes to a decoder and logic circuit whichmay be implemented as discrete logic in a low power application, forexample, or as a microprocessor/memory combination as previouslydescribed. The interrogation signal modulations may define a code toeither read data out from or write data into a chalcogenide-basednonvolatile memory in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention. In this illustrative embodiment, data read out from thememory is transferred to the transceiver 773 as an “answerback” signalon the antenna 775 at a second carrier frequency F₂. In passive RFIDsystems power is derived from the interrogating signal and memory suchas provided by a chalcogenide-based thin-film transistor-freedecoder/OTS driver with or without nonvolatile memory in accordance withthe principles of the present invention is particularly well suited tosuch use.

1. An apparatus comprising: a thin-film transistor-free address decoder,the decoder comprising one or more diodes in a reverse-biased state; anda thin-film memory cell, wherein the thin-film transistor-free addressdecoder is configured to select the thin-film memory cell in response toleakage current from a reverse-biased decoder diode.
 2. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the leakage current triggers a first ovonic thresholdswitch (OTS) device and thereby exposes a first terminal of thethin-film memory cell to a first access signal.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 2, wherein the leakage current triggers a second OTS device andthereby exposes a second terminal of the thin-film memory cell to asecond access signal.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the firstaccess signal is a voltage source signal.
 5. The apparatus of claim 2,wherein the first access signal is a current source signal.
 6. Anapparatus comprising: a thin-film transistor-free address decoder, thedecoder comprising one or more diodes in a reverse-biased state; and athin-film memory cell, the thin-film memory cell including aphase-change memory element; wherein the thin-film transistor-freeaddress decoder is configured to select the thin-film memory cell inresponse to leakage current from the reverse-biased decoder diodes. 7.An apparatus comprising: a thin-film transistor-free address decoder,the decoder comprising one or more diodes in a reverse-biased state; anda thin-film memory cell, the thin-film memory cell including achalcogenide memory element; wherein the thin-film transistor-freeaddress decoder is configured to select the thin-film memory cell inresponse to leakage current from the reverse-biased decoder diodes. 8.The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the thin-film memory cell includes anovonic threshold switch (OTS) device in series with the chalcogenidememory element, the OTS device configured as an isolation device.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 7, wherein the thin-film memory cell includes a diodein series with the chalcogenide memory element, the diode configured asan isolation device.
 10. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the firstterminal of the thin-film memory cell is configured as a column nodeshared by a plurality of thin-film memory cells within an array ofthin-film memory cells.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein thesecond terminal of the thin-film memory cell is configured as a row nodeshared by a plurality of thin-film memory cells within the array ofthin-film memory cells.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thethin-film transistor-free address decoder includes a plurality of ovonicthreshold switch (OTS) devices configured to provide access to thethin-film memory cell with the leakage current.
 13. The apparatus ofclaim 12, wherein the leakage current triggers an a first OTS device toexpose a first terminal of the selected thin-film memory cell to a firstaccess signal.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the leakagecurrent triggers a second OTS device to expose a second terminal of theselected thin-film memory cell to a second access signal.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 13, wherein the first access signal is a voltagesignal.
 16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the thin-film memory cellincludes a phase change memory element.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16,wherein the thin-film memory cell includes a chalcogenide memoryelement.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the thin-film memorycell includes an OTS device in series with the chalcogenide memoryelement, the OTS device configured as an isolation device.
 19. Theapparatus of claim 13, wherein the first terminal of the thin-filmmemory cell is configured as a column node shared by a plurality ofthin-film memory cells within an array of thin-film memory cells. 20.The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the second terminal of the thin-filmmemory cell is configured as a row node shared by a plurality ofthin-film memory cells within the array of thin-film memory cells.
 21. Astandalone memory device comprising: thin-film memory cells arranged ina cross-point array; and thin-film peripheral circuitry including atransistor-free thin-film address decoder configured to access thethin-film memory cells, the thin film address decoder comprising anovonic threshold switch (OTS) triggered by reverse-biasing a diode thatcouples an address line to a column line.
 22. A standalone memory devicecomprising: thin-film memory cells arranged in a cross-point array; andthin-film peripheral circuitry including a transistor-free thin-filmaddress decoder configured to access the thin-film memory cells, thethin film address decoder comprising an ovonic threshold switch (OTS)triggered by reverse-biasing a diode that couples an address line to arow line.
 23. A method comprising: connecting a plurality of diodes to arow of memory cells within a memory array; reverse biasing all of thediodes connected to the row; and employing the reverse-bias current ofthe diodes to trigger an ovonic threshold switch (OTS) device to therebyaccess a memory cell within the row of memory cells.
 24. The method ofclaim 23, further comprising: connecting a plurality of diodes to acolumn of memory cells within a memory array; reverse biasing all of thediodes connected to the column; and employing the reverse-bias currentof the diodes to trigger an OTS device to thereby access a memory cellwithin the column of memory cells.
 25. The apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising: a microprocessor configured to access the thin-film memorycell through the thin-film transistor-free address decoder.